Black Labs
by Ghost-Phage
Summary: A 14 year old girl and her equally aged dog show up on Shizuo's doorstep after stealing the equivalent of 20,000 US dollars. She's heard about him and requires him as her body guard. He just wants to know how the heck she did it.
1. Just like Flies

The underground is rumbling.

The sound, the quaking, the slight rattling of stones on pavement; they all meant one thing— the subways were alive and breathing. They move daily, but he only ever seems to notice when they leave. _'Thats all people do. They come, they leech, they piss me off, and then they leave again'._

The city had a funny way of sucking people in, which was a complete contradiction to what he had just thought. He knew that fact well; it was the only reason he was still in this city. No one _worked _in this city; the city _worked _them, and he was no exception. Perhaps he had some "abilities" and street smarts that made him more adept at survival in this crazy town, but at the same time; they hindered him by making him the target for almost every gang member that lurked in the alleyways.

Now of course, you can imagine how difficult this can make a person's life. Perhaps "difficult" isn't the best word to use in this situation; seeing as "annoying" fits so much better. He had no trouble and had never had any trouble dispatching the random punk who thought to be the hero by going after him- Heiwajima Shizuo, the strongest man in Ikebukuro ; which was a title he didn't wear proudly.

No, being the strongest or best at anything is never good. Being at the top only means that everyone knows your name and wants to kick your ass for your title. This usually isn't a problem though, because even though people want your title, there's a good chance they're too afraid to try and put their plans in action; especially when the man they want to kill can survive getting hit by an 18-wheeler and throws vending machines like he's throwing a football.

Being strong had never been much of gift to him, though, because while he had the strength to bend light poles in half, he also had the temper to match. The strangest part was that he hated violence. Absolutely hated it, but that didn't stop him from busting caps on a regular basis. It was all about impulse control, something he clearly knew nothing about.

* * *

><p><em>'This city never sleeps', <em>he thinks to himself, casually walking behind Tom Tanaka- his employer. He's much shorter than Shizuo, and with a strange dreadlocks look going for him, but he pays and he's not a complete dick.

Shizuo is like a light switch when it comes to his mood and emotions. Walking with Tom, all he can think about is the hundreds of people that pass him each day. He doesn't know their lives, nor does he care, but whenever he spends hours a day doing all the hard work for Tom, all he wants to do is sit back and relax; maybe smoke a little. On the other hand, whenever he finds the time to sit and relax, all he wants to do is get up and move around. That was another thing about this city that he was well aware of. Relaxing makes you stir-crazy, work makes you tired, and there never seemed to be any balance.

Shizuo is Tom's bodyguard; which basically means he's Tom's "wall of meat", so to speak. Tom would be pummeled and eaten alive if Shizuo wasn't around. The name "Shizuo Heiwajima", strikes enough fear into the people Tom is collecting from, that they don't even bother fighting and just hand the money they owe over. Sometimes, they try to wheel and deal, though, and that's when Shizuo ends up tossing convenience store trashcans and stop signs all across the city. He's still a light switch- his anger fits seem to come from nowhere, even though they boil over for some time inside him before he ends up snapping.

"Shizuo, you hungry? It's nearly seven and neither of us has eaten all day," Tom asks, still strolling along the sidewalk in his 'Business-man' suit. He's actually quite a gentleman.

"I could eat," he replies. He's bored too.

"Sweet! I was hoping you'd say so," Tom continues, clapping his hands together. "Where should we-" but he's cut of by a very familiar voice. A voice that always seem to stand on this corner, and usually makes very little sense when it comes to pronunciation.

"Come, eat at Russia Sushi! It good! It cheap! It not made from human, even on half price days!" Simon is a big guy, and would probably be very scary if he wasn't such a pacifist. "Oh, Shizuo!" he enunciates each syllable. "Come, eat! If you don't eat, you get mad; if you get mad, you fight, and fighting no good."

Tom turns to Shizuo and kinda jerks his head as if to edge him into the sushi restaurant. Shizuo just shakes his head.

"Sorry, but if that's where you wanna eat, I'll just head home."

"B-but, Shizuo... c'mon!" Tom starts, but is only greeted by the back of Shizuo's hand.

"Sorry Tom, but I'm sure this isn't in my contract."

Tom pouts as Shizuo walks away. Then he turns to Simon and mumbles; "I didn't have any walking around money... now I can't eat..."

* * *

><p>The sidewalks are brimming with people, each on their way to nowhere. Shizuo is no exception; he's just another face in the crowd. The people that know his name- know what he can do- often get a little uncomfortable around him, and despite his usually aloof personality, he does seem to take notice. He's just accepted that people like him aren't well received into society, and he pretends not to care, but like any powerful man, he has his insecurities too. He isn't a brick wall.<p>

He likes the city at night, though.

He thinks the building and street lights are "pretty", which seems to be the best word to describe it, though "pretty" doesn't seem to suit his personality. His face, maybe, but not his personality.

He walks past a bar and feels a sense of irony. '_I feel like I should be walking in and starting a shift...'_ he thinks to himself, and almost has to laugh. He had a certain penchant for not only hurling vending machines across the street, but also being a snappy dresser. Every day, he was in his bartender get-up- a dress shirt, pants, signature weskit, and the all important bow tie. He didn't find it odd that he was always dressed as a bartender; he thought it was symbolic. They were clothes from his kid brother; they reminded him to slow down and try and stay in once place every now and then.

His house isn't far from where he'd grown up as a child. It isn't the fanciest place in the world and the train that passes through was a little obnoxious, but he'd grown used to it over time of not being able to afford anything better. As he strolls nonchalantly down the street with the sun lolling on the horizon, a trashcan topples over and catches his eye. It doesn't necessarily surprise him, it just breaks the quiet.

As the red lights flicker and a train charges through, an aged black lab trots past him with it's head hanging low. It takes a moment to stop and notice him, and then continues on down the road towards Shizuo's house. Shizuo lets out a 'Hmmf' noise in acknowledgment of the elderly dog, and then continues onto his house; though it appears as if he's following the dog.

Once he reaches his bedraggled house, he notices the dog on his front steps. It wags it's tail when it sees him and then lets out a happy bark coupled with a cough from it's old age. He notices that the dog has a blue and yellow striped bandana around it's neck.

"What are you doing, dog?" he asks the lab casually. It barks and wags it's tail harder. "Seriously, move off the steps," he continues as he inches towards the raggedy thing. It's a big dog, easily seventy pounds, and Shizuo doesn't think he's ever seen a lab that big.

It barks again, and what appears to be a grin spreads on it's face. The thing was not only keeping him from getting in his house, but it was taunting him too.

Shizuo thinks about removing the dog by force, but that's almost ridiculous and seems a little nonsensical. Beat up a dog because it's on your front steps? Please, that's just cruel, it's probably just looking for food.

"Listen," Shizuo says as he lets out a sigh. "I'll feed you if you get the hell off my stoop."

The dog stays in it's place and barks more.

"Jesus, what the hell's it gonna take to get you out of here?" The thought to try and go around the dog hadn't come across his mind. What if it was rabid?

"Kota!" says a sudden voice. It's very high pitched, almost more of a squeal. "I said keep him from going inside, not piss him off." The dog turns it's head around and lets it's tongue hang out.

"Huh? Don't get snippy with me, mister!" The voice seems to originate from a girl. She's small and petite, but she walks tough. The dog lets out one more bark and then runs to her, licking her hand. She smiles and then her tough walk turns into a gleeful skip as she toys with the dog; who's all to glad to get the attention.

"I take it this dog is yours?" Shizuo adds with a grunt.

"Yes, he's my boy. I apologize for him bothering you..." she pauses and then turns to face him. She's got a red backpack hanging over her shoulder. It's got something it it that makes it look lumpy. "But the momentary trouble he's brought you was necessary."

"Necessary?" Shizuo asks. She'd piqued his curiosity, though her wide smile kind of gave him the creeps.

"Very much. You're Heiwajima Shizuo. I've heard about you from the underground; the blond hair and bartender get-up gave it way. Ikebukuro's strongest, was it?" She paces around in a strange 'skip-hop' manner that puts him slightly at unease. Kids are scary. Much scarier than adults.

"And what are you getting at?" he asks, continuing to be indifferent.

"I'm going to be frank. I've just 'procured' over one-million, five-hundred eighty one thousand, two hundred yen. And yes, by 'procured', I mean 'stole'."

Shizuo stands still, staying completely bereft for a moment before breaking out in laughter.

"Holy shit, kid! What are you, fifteen?" he manages to get out before cracking up again.

"Fourteen, ass-hole," she spits.

"And you expect me to believe that? What are you even trying to ask me?"

"Look, as you can imagine, stealing this much money doesn't sit well with a lot of people. I've heard about you and what you can do. I'd like to hire you as a body guard."

"Damn, kid, your funny. Thanks for the joke." He makes a move for his door which is no longer obstructed by a dirty lab, but in a final attempt to prove that she's telling the truth, she makes the dangerous choice of throwing her lumpy backpack at Shizuo.

It lands no where near him. Her weak arms couldn't toss the heavy bag more than ten feet.

"Nice throw, kid," he says, continuing on to the door.

"Open the damned bag!" she screams. Her dog, Kota, jumps a little in shock. This kid was apparently a well of profanity.

Shizuo snorts and decides to appease her silly whim. He bends over and tugs at the zipper. When the bag opens, the paper contents of the bag pour out.

His eyes go wide at the sight of it.

"My name is Otsuki Harumi and I am a fourteen year old that has stolen over one-million, five-hundred eighty one thousand, two hundred yen. Will you be my body-guard?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I have no idea what I'm doing. Reviews are nice too. If the chapter titles are like, WTF?, they actually ARE relevant... in some manner. DERP. <strong>


	2. Please don't wag your finger

There was no possible way that that paper was real. It was simply impossible, implausible, and utterly improbable.

And yet, there it was.

He couldn't help but gawk at the ridiculous sum of money, continuing to remind himself that it must be counterfeit- it must be fraudulent.

He takes a quick glance at the girl again, but that quick glance turns into a stare. He tries his best to appear unperturbed, but he knows his indifferent shell is beginning to waver.

"I'm sorry," she lets out a small chuckle that expands into an uproar. Her short copper hair is bouncing on her shoulders. "I thought if I acted tough and aggressive, you'd be more inclined to help me out with my 'little problem', but that's just not me."

"Hmmf," Shizuo lets out as he stands up. He pretends that he could care less about the money in the bag, but it's not as easy as you'd think.

"That's not even all of it," she continues, her previously dangerous scowl now bent into an almost pretentious smile. "That's only half of it."

Shizuo is unsure about how to act. She'd been continuously piquing his interest, though he'd never expected his day to come to this. Something like this had come at him so suddenly, and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to ask her.

"I get it," she addresses his silence. "You want to know exactly what I'm proposing. It's a win win for both of us, actually, and it would require almost no effort on your part."

"Listen, kid," he says while shaking his head. "This has been cute, but I'm almost positive you're out of your league here."

"Almost? You think it's impossible that I could ever have obtained this sum of money? I'd think you of all people would know to expect the unexpected." Her grayish eyes let off a gleam as her lips speak seamlessly.

"Either way, I don't think it's real," he sneers.

"Have someone check it, I don't really care," she says as she closes her eyes and shrugs. "But either way, you should hear me out."

Shizuo rolls his eyes. The whole time she'd been speaking, her dog had stayed at her side, keeping a thoughtful gaze from wise eyes on Shizuo. That dog was clearly more intelligent than was let on.

"I'm listening," Shizuo finally replies, now staring more at the intimidating dog then the girl.

"If you can survive until I get this money where it needs to go-a couple days, maybe a week- as my body guard, all the money in that bag is yours. Hell, take the bag itself, I don't really care!" she finishes out with a laugh and a cracked bark from her lab. Then she continues her skip-hop motion until she's done a full circle. "Are you up to that?"

"I'm supposed to believe that you'd give me half of the money you 'stole'," he starts, putting air quotes around 'stole'. "Just because I was your body guard for a week?"

"Mhmm," she nods, then takes notice to Shizuo glancing at her bag and quickly skips over to pick it up. She's merely three feet away from him, and yet she doesn't falter nor does she hesitate to give him a dicey grin from ear to ear.

Shizuo comes to the conclusion that she isn't human.

"You keep an uninterested air about you, but your eyes give away that you are diffident," she speaks slyly.

"And how would you know?" he tries to say it stoically, but it comes out more agitated than he'd hoped.

"Maybe I'm an Esper?" she replies flawlessly, another glint coming across her stormy eyes.

Shizuo coins her as a lunatic.

Her mannerism is beginning to put him on edge. She says she's being frank, but at the same time, she's carefully wording her replies to make her sentences sound like ambrosia; flawless and absolute. He doesn't understand how a fourteen year old could possibly provoke such interest in him.

He wanted nothing more than to give a huff and walk away without saying another word, but he knew he was far too deep in her plan now. The best he could do was listen intently for a loophole to escape through. He'd always known that kids were much more dangerous than adults. They're so unassuming that you can't possibly imagine them to understand anything they were talking about.

Perhaps she was an Esper?

"Fantasy aside," she begins again, throwing the red bag over her shoulder. "What would you do if everything I'm saying now was absolutely true? The money is real and my offer is real as well?"

He looks towards the train tracks, hoping they'd giving him a simple yet subtle answer.

Nothing.

"Be honest with me and we can negotiate," he finally answers.

"Agree to my terms and I'll tell you anything you want to know," she reciprocates.

"You think you're in any position to wheel and deal with me?" he sneers at her. "You answer my questions first, and then I'll tell you if I agree to your terms."

"True, I'm just a kid. True, I'm in no right to wheel and deal. But it's also true that I have enough wit to mentally run laps around you-" she cuts herself off when she notices him clenching his fists. "That's not to say your dull, it just means that you aren't much good at-" she cuts herself off again when she sees him gritting his teeth. "Alright, I'll stop now. Clearly I've got wit, but wether that's going to help me in any social situation is another story. Let's leave it at 'Neither of us is much good at talking and being sympathetic towards other human beings'; shall we?"

Honestly, he'd punch her if she wasn't just a kid.

"Yeah, your last attempt of convincing me of anything has really helped your case," he snarls.

"I'm sorry, I'm a ditz and I talk to much, but I'm not trying to offend you- seeing as you could kill me with one of your pinkies. The problem is, I'm just no good at being hesitant about anything. I just have to talk and talk and hope I get my point across but that usually ends up pissing people off and-"

"Yeah, yeah; you talk a shit-ton. What were you getting at before?" She was beginning to aggravate him.

"OK, OK," she slows down and collects herself. "The point is, I like you and I think we could have a fun partnership here while it lasts. You aren't like the other brick walls I could hire as a body guard, you know? You've got spunk." The devilish grin returns to her face and Shizuo isn't sure if she's complimenting him or not.

"I'll say it again," he tries to respond intelligently. "Be honest with me and we can negotiate."

"I see you're hell-bent on this set-up here..." she trails off. "Your also stubborn, I see. That's OK, though, It'd be no fun if my body guard was always an obedient 'wall of meat'. I'll tell you anything you want to know." She was speaking as if her deal had already gone through and he was already her body guard. She was acting as if he'd already agreed. Shizuo thinks it's just because that way, her terms were being followed. It didn't make much sense, but he took a deep breath and prepared to ask his round of questions.

"How?" That was the first thing he could think of and he thought it to be the most appropriate.

"How? How, as in, 'How did this ridiculously awesome fourteen year old girl manage to steal that kind of money'?"

"What else does, 'How' mean?"

"Alright, yeesh, no need to blow up on me."

He snorts. She didn't even know what blowing up meant to him. "Just get on with it."

"Is it so hard to believe that while an Ikebukuro 'Big-shot' was transferring money through his account to another, I made the dangerous decision to hack the system, steal the pin number, and transfer it to my own account?"

"Yes," he answers simply.

"Well, then you'd be right!" she laughs and then begins her skip-hop motion again, pacing around him in circles. "In actuality, a very big gang leader actually had two bags filled with money that totaled one-million, five-hundred eighty one thousand, two hundred yen. He was preparing for a trade off with another gang leader who'd been supplying him weapons. I found out the time and simply had Kota here run in cause a distraction while I snuck in the back door, stole the money, and snuck back out again. It was a lot easier than I thought It'd be!"

"That doesn't make sense and doesn't sound possible."

"Sorry, but that's the truth. There's no better way to explain it other then to say that I walked in, took it, and walked out again." She stopped circling him and looked him in the eyes; which was no small feat considering that she couldn't have been more than five feet tall.

"If that's true, then your gutsy." He had to give it to her.

"Thank you, thank you," she says while bowing to a fake audience.

"If that's true, than why did you do it?" The question deserved an answer, but it seemed to catch her off guard. She stopped mid bow, and looked up at him impassively. She paused for a moment, staring at him blankly before she got back on her game and waved her finger at him.

"No no," she replies, shaking her head. "That's for me to know and for you not to know. Get it?"

"Isn't that a breach of contract?" he says as if he's one-upped her, which he had. For the first time, he'd said something she hadn't expected.

"That's the one question I will not answer, " she replies in all seriousness- that gleam in her eyes gone.

"Why are you so serious all of a sudden? You play around with the fact that you'd stolen a ridiculous amount of money and you can'e even give a reason as to why?"

"Look, there is one rule a good body guard should always follow, and that rule is: if someone is paying you, you should have no problem accepting the money without giving them any lip."

"But you said you'd answer any question I had." Now it was the girl-Harumi- it was her turn to be aggravated.

"I said, that is the one question I will not answer, and if you'd like my money, then you'd best leave that question be."

"Alright, alright," he finally gives up. Clearly, she wasn't talking anymore on the subject. She was so willing to admit her great feat of stealing such a ridiculous sum of money, and yet, she refused to admit why. Perhaps it was personal and he'd best leave it alone?

This only made him more curious.

"You can ask me more questions later, but I need to know if we have a deal here," she says, that sneaky gleam coming back to her eyes.

"I'll tell you what, if this money can be proven to be legal and credible, I'll be you're body guard for the week." It was true, he'd wanted nothing to to with her moments ago. He'd wanted nothing to do with her silly whims and talk of gang nonsense, but the fact of the matter was that she continuously galvanized his curiosity and he couldn't stand it. Behind her devious smile, there was a story, and he wanted nothing more than to figure out what the ending was.

"Excellent!" she exclaims. "But I do hope you have someone in mind. I'd assume you wouldn't trust anyone I could recommend."

"Yeah, I know a guy." The words that came out sounded cliche and a little bit silly, but It was something he had always wanted to say.

"Perfect! Lead us there!"


	3. I'm sure she's harmless!

Some of the strangest things that had ever happened to him were happening on this day.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. Perhaps it was better to just go with it? Perhaps. He'd run out of time to contemplate his options, though; seeing as he was walking down the street with a fourteen year-old girl at his heels.

_'It could be worse...'_ he thinks but is quickly reminded that it really couldn't get much worse. The aforementioned girl had decided to pipe up every ten seconds. Every time she opened her mouth it was; '_Shizuo, where are we going?', ' Shizuo, can I make up a nick-name for you?', 'Shizuo, the back of your head looks funny', 'Shizuo, why are you twitching?', _etc.

No matter how many bad vibes he gave off, she continued to skip along the street as if she were with a friend she had known for years.

"Gah," she starts again as Shizuo braces himself for the onslaught of nonsense bound to come from her mouth. "You're like... the biggest sour puss I've ever met. And that's saying something."

"Maybe if you'd shut the hell up once in a while, I'd be a little more cooperative."

"No, that's not it..." she begins trailing off as Shizuo realizes she isn't directing her attention to him anymore. "Nah, I'd say second or third biggest sour puss." She rubs her chin as if she's some kind of wise old sage, but the image is quickly ruined as she begins skipping backwards in front of him. Her dog almost seems to be skipping too.

"Watch it! You're gonna bump into someone!" Shizuo tries to reason with the girl who was now backwards skipping over a crosswalk but gives up on the realization that his words are futile.

"Yeah, definitely second. First place is reserved for the biggest sour puss that's ever existed! I've met a lot of people in my travels, and you, sir, are not the worst."

"Your travels? God, this is ridiculous." Shizuo still hasn't gotten over Harumi's inane lingo, and there was a good chance he never would.

Did she just call him, 'Sir'?

He rubs his eyes and adjusts his sunglasses as he continues to analyze his ever growing curiosity and mild hatred for Harumi. She liked to point out stupid and pointless facts that were never relevant to anything. She also liked to exaggerate not only her words, but her movements as well (every time they passed a light pole, she felt the need to swing around it and use the momentum to continue down the street). Most of all, though, she liked metaphors, similes, and speaking in manner that evoked thought or emotion through a strange order of diction.

It didn't evoke much thought for him, just annoyance.

In fact, every mannerism about her reminded him of a certain flea he knew. He knew she was a clever girl, but he had never thought about the kid having ulterior motives. That was one of the few things that separated her personality from Izaya's and it seemed to put his mind at ease for the time being; though he knows that now he's compared the two people, he's going to hate this girl even more.

"Eh, Shizuo?" she pioneers on, making a breach in her previous- one-sided- conversation about 'blasphemed-modern-media'. "Where are you right now?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he promptly addresses her question with another question.

"I mean like, woah, where's your state of mind?" She waves her arms around in an attempt to be 'Psychedelic'. Her dog lets out a gruff bark simultaneously.

"Is that supposed to mean shit to me?" Shizuo barks back. He was finding it harder and harder to keep on walking to their destination without getting pissed off at this girl.

"I'd imagine your head being like a train station. Busy thoughts, going lots of places, hard to get off track... I guess 'steadfast' would be a good word to describe it."

"And what about yourself?" he replies almost dutifully.

"I'd say my head was like an airport," she hurriedly answers; as if she'd been waiting for someone to ask.

"Because your head's always in the clouds?" he states in a matter most snarky. He thought it was clever.

"No, not really." She'd stopped skipping for a while and resumed walking in her place next to Shizuo.

"Then why? Why is your head like an airport?"

"Shizuo? Where are we supposed to be going?" she casually diverts the conversation. "I haven't distracted you with my nonsense, have I?"

"No," he responds, though she had managed to keep a small amount of his attention. He wanted to know why her head was like an airport almost as much as he'd wanted to know why a raven was like a writing desk. "The place we're going is up there," he continues, jerking his head in the general forward direction.

"Well then!" she perks up suddenly and prepares to jet off down the street. "Let's hurry this along! I hate this slow pace you're moving at!"

* * *

><p>"Listen, kid," Shizuo starts up again as he raises a hand to block her path. They were standing outside an apartment door. "Stay out here and try not to make any noise. Also, I need that bag."<p>

"So, you want me to just wait out here why you take my bag of money into an apartment unbeknownst to me? Where you could possibly sneak off with it?" she replies, holding her arms akimbo.

Shizuo winces a little; "Yeah, I guess it sounds a little bad. I 'spose you'll just have to trust me."

Harumi stares at him. A glint of something crosses her slate colored eyes but then passes.

She tosses him the bag.

It almost surprises him how willing she was to hand it over. She spins around on her heels and then points a slender finger up at him.

"Yah, I trust you. Just don't mess that up," she says as unassuming as Shizuo thought possible. With a muffled grin, Shizuo turns around and takes a hesitant grip on the door knob; half expecting Harumi to try and follow him. He takes a quick over-the-shoulder glance to find her petting her dog's muzzle.

She didn't follow him in.

"Hey, Shizuo! Whatcha got there?" a friendly face greets Shizuo at the door.

"Shinra, I don't know if you'd be the best person to look to for this, but I need you to check this out." Casually, Shizuo tosses the bag to Shinra in the same manner Harumi had tossed the bag to him. Shinra has the same reaction as well.

"Eh? What's this?" Shinra tugs at the bag's zipper and nearly throws it across the room when he sees it's contents. "Wow! What is this!"

"Yeah, don't start. I just figured since you work in the underground, you'd know a thing or two about counterfeit money."

"Wait? This is real!"

"I don't know. That's why I came to you," Shizuo continues, analyzing the sense he'd put into his plan of bringing this money to Shinra.

"Uhh... well..." Shinra takes a hold of a single bundle and then adjusts his glasses. "Now... I'm no professional, but as far as I can tell- it's authentic." He looks to Shizuo for a surprised reaction that he doesn't get.

"So... it is real?" he replies with a snort. "I guess I should now better then to go oppose a child's innocence-"

"See? I told you!" a high-pitched squeal enters the conversation.

"What? Who are you?" Shinra asks casually and politely- just as he always does.

"Oh? Hello!" Harumi greets him as she slides onto one of the chairs next to the island in his kitchen. Kota trots in after her and plops himself on the floor with a whispered bark.

"Eh? Harumi! I said stay outside!" Shizuo pipes up angrily. She waves him off.

"Calm yourself. I heard your whole conversation through the door anyway."

"Sh-shizuo? Who's that?" Shinra interrupts, pointing a confused finger at Harumi.

Shizuo lets out a loud 'hmpf' noise and continues: "That's Harumi. That's her money your holding."

"EH!" Shinra exclaims and tosses the bag to the floor. "No way! Really?"

Harumi nods proudly. "I'm a regular mafioso!"

"That's some kind of crazy..." Shinra leans in closer to the girl and rubs his chin. Then he leans over to Shizuo and uses his hand to cover his mouth. "She's human, right?"

"I think so..." Shizuo pauses. "Speaking of human, where's Celty? It would probably complicate things if the headless rider were here."

"Oh, Celty? She's out. I see your point, though. We should get this girl out of here before she comes back-"

"What're you whispering about?" Harumi enters their conversation. "Who're you talking 'bout?"

"N-nothing!" Shinra throws his hands up in surrender. Harumi rolls her eyes and looks to Shizuo.

"Well, what now? Can we leave" Harumi implores.

"I guess..." Shizuo replies, feeling slightly defeated. He'd hoped the money was counterfeit.

"Good. I'm bored and I need to feed Kota." She nearly leaps from her chair and skips to the door. Shizuo turns to follow when Shinra grabs his arm.

"Shizuo... what exactly is going on with that girl?"

"I guess I'm her hired body guard now," he manages to get out with a laugh.

"That's... a little strange... but that's not what I was asking."

"What were you asking?"

"Who is she?"

"I know her name- Otsuki Harumi. Nothin' else. Frankly, I don't care as long as she's paying."

"Shizuo... I don't think this is a good idea. Have you stopped to consider how she came into possession of that money? What if what she's telling you is just a front?"

"She hasn't lied to me yet."

"Shizuo... I'm mostly concerned because she looks really, _really, _familiar. It's just a hunch, but I think she isn't the first person in her family to show up in my apartment- if you know what I mean." Shizuo did know what he meant. He was referring to his business as an underground doctor.

"You think?" Shizuo replies dully.

"I... maybe. Just a hunch."

"Guess I'll take my chances then," he continues, backing out of the apartment and ignoring Shinra's opposition. "I think I can handle a fourteen year old."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Haha, look at me typing slowly and taking forever to upload! What's this 'Consistency' you speak of?<strong>


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